What time does the race begin?

There are different start times, and different starting points, to make sure there is not a crush by having too many runners on the course at the same time.

The first to go will be the men and women wheelchair racers who set off from the Blue Start positioned on Shooters Hill Road in Blackheath at 8.55am.

Next to go from the same start area will be the Paralympic athletes competing in the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup at 9am.

There will be a 15 minute gap before they are followed out of the Blue Start by the Elite women.

At 10am there will be the mass start from Blue, Red and Green starting gates with the Elite men leading the rest of the field of amateur and fun runners who raise huge sums of cash for worthy causes.

The Red starting gate is based at Greenwich Park, Charlton Way, while the Green start is at St John's Park on the edge of Blackheath. All of the courses join up after 2.8 miles in Woolwich.

What about the weather?

(Image: Allsport)

The Met Office will be releasing an up to date weather forecast a few days before the race and runners are asked to keep checking reports.

Everyone taking part will be hoping for a fresh spring morning to ease the pain of the 26.2 mile route with some cloud cover to protect those racing into the afternoon.

Where does the course go?

The race begins in Greenwich, and then runners get a first-class tour of London's biggest tourist attractions that include the Cutty Sark ship, Tower Bridge, Cleopatra's Needle, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.

The runners then take their last few steps down The Mall before completing the race in front of Buckingham Palace.

There will be a number of road closures throughout the day as traffic in the city is brought to a standstill for the runners.

How can I watch or listen to the race?

The BBC will be providing full coverage of the Virgin London Marathon from 8.30am on BBC One, BBC One HD, Radio 5 Live and online.

Jonathan Edwards will present the coverage, with reports from Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis. Steve Cram and co. will provide the commentary.

If you fancy a lie-in on Sunday, highlights will be on BBC2 at 5.30pm.

Who were last year's winners?

Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo stormed to victory in the women's race with a time of two hours 20 minutes and 15 seconds, to win comfortably ahead of her fellow countrywoman Edna Kiplagat.

In the men's wheelchair race, David Weir's bid for a record seventh London Marathon title ended in disappointment as he came home fifth some way behind winner Kurt Fearnley of Australia.

Any road closures?

Roads around the Blackheath, Woolwich, Greenwich and Westminster areas will be closed from 7:00am on the morning of the race. Residents will be helped across the route via pre-determined crossing points as listed below: